JP/13/Tunas

JP/13/Tunas

Jardine C&C buys 33.7% stake in Tunas Ridean

Dow Jones Singapore

Singapore's Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd. said on Friday that it has bought a 33.7 percent stake in Indonesia's PT Tunas Ridean for US$19.8 million.

Tunas Ridean is a Jakarta-listed company that sells new and used automobiles and motorcycles in Indonesia.

The stake price represents approximately 3.4 percent of the audited consolidated net tangible assets of Jardine Cycle & Carriage of S$1 billion (US$591 million) as at Dec. 31, 2002, the Singapore company said in a stock exchange announcement.

Jardine Cycle & Carriage, which sells Mercedes-Benz, Kia Motors and Mitsubishi cars in Singapore, already owns a 38 percent stake in Indonesia's largest-listed auto company PT Astra International.

"The acquisition provides JC&C with the opportunity to strengthen its presence in the Indonesian automobile industry," the Singapore company said in the statement.

Jardine Cycle & Carriage has been actively raising its profile in Indonesia since its initial purchase of a stake in Astra four years ago.

The Indonesian company now contributes about 80 cents of every dollar Jardine Cycle & Carriage earns.

The Jardine Strategic Holdings-majority owned company said it would fund the stake purchase through internal resources and bank borrowings.